anthro test 1

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Ethnocentrism

The idea that our beliefs and behaviors are right and true, and that other peoples' behaviors are false. Ex. Gender Relationships

Relativism

Says that no behavior or belief can be judged to be odd or wrong simply because it is different from our own. Understand a culture in its own terms and understand behaviors/beliefs in terms of the purpose, function, or meaning to the society

Ethnographic Method

The immersion of researches in the lives and cultures of the peoples they are trying to understand in order to comprehend the meanings these people ascribe to their existence.

Anthropological Fieldwork

firsthand or direct immersion and observation of the people or culture a researcher is trying to understand

Participant Observation

the active participation of a researcher or observer in the lives of those being studied.

Ritual

a dramatic rendering or social portrayal of meanings shared by a specific body of people in a way that makes them seem correct and proper

Symbolic Actions

the activities-including ritual, myth, art, dance, and music-that dramatically depict the meanings shared by a specific body of people

Sapir-Whorf Hypoothesis

the idea that there is an explicit link between the grammar of a language and the culture of the people who speak that language

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which linguistic expressions are taken from one are of experience and applied to another.

Key Metaphor

a term coined by Sherry Ortner to identify metaphors that dominate the meanings that people in a specific culture attribute to their experience

Cannibal Dance

Provides means to the Kwakwaka’wakw life and portrays the values of their society and a way to control their lives. “Hunger seen as a potentially destructive force, ritual shows how hunger and greed must be tamed by society.”

Interpretive Drift

The slow, often unacknowledged shift in someone’s manner of interpreting events as he or she becomes involved with a particular activity.

Secondary Elaboration

a term suggested by E.E. Evans-Pritchard for people’s attempts to explain away inconsistencies or contradiction in their beliefs

Selective Perception

The tendency of people to see and recognize only those things they expect to see or those that confirm their view of the world.

Revitalization Movements

The term suggested by Anthony F. C. Wallace for attempts by a people to construct a more satisfying culture.

Ghost Dance

A way to resurrect the past. A dance performed for 5 days and nights that if done, people would be reunited with their friends and family in the other world. The prophet Wovoka had a vision where God told him to do this.

Culture

The system of meanings about the nature of experience that are shared by a people and passed on from one generation to another.

Explicit Culture

Type of knowledge that is discussed openly. Much of culture falls into this section because we have words for most of what we do or feel.

Tactic Culture

Kinds of knowledge that scientist are not contentiously aware of. Goes without saying/second nature.

Ethnography

the process of discovery and describing a particular culture (ethno: difference, graph: writing).

Naive Realism

the idea that every culture basically sees the world in the same way; thinking that your own perspective on reality is the only that can possibly exist.

Culture Shock

a form of anxiety that results from an inability to predict the behavior of others or to act appropriately in cross-cultural situations.

Ethnocentrism

the idea that our beliefs and behaviors are right and true, and that other peoples’ behaviors are false.

Symbol

Something that stands for something else (used in communication)

Language

A system of cultural knowledge used to generate and interpret speeech

Non-linguistic Symbol

Body Language

Super Organic

culture is like an organism, it is made up of many smaller parts; people are the parts of society and are the products of that society.

Old vs. New View on Culture

old: Static (unchanging equilibrium), Homogenous (everyone is a culture is the same), bounded (completely separate from other cultures), ranked (primitive to modern). New: process, negotiated and conflicted, not bounded, many valid ways of being human.

"studying up"

Occurred post 1945 when cultural anthropologist shifted their evolutionary focus to studying all human groups in the present

Enculturation

Process of learning a particular culture. Never 100%

Normalization

making the stranger familiar

De-familiarization

part of what cultural anthropologist attempts to do, alongside “making the strange familiar”.

Field Notes

Notes taken in the field while studying

Interpretation (in ethnography)

the step between discovery and description-what does what you discovered mean?

-Accounting for the position from which you observe. (ex. who are you? your background? age, sex, class, ethnicity?)

Conditions of Possibility

Qualifications for which a scenario can be possible; self-explanatory

Rumspringa

Rite of passage; when the Amish teens hit the age of 16, they are able to experience the "english" world.

"Worldview" and "ethos"

what we believe the truth of the world to be; how we think things really are in their actuality. Mutually reinforcing.

Three stages in rites of passage

separation, liminality, and re-incorporation

Liminality

the in between stage in the rite of passage; deciding whether you want to continue you’re new way of life or not.

Religion

the cultural knowledge of the supernatural that people use to cope with the unlimited problems of human existence.

Supernatural

Things that are beyond the natural. For example Gods, ghosts, spirits, etc

Ultimate Problems

Universal human problems, such as death, explanation of evil meanings of life

Transcendent Values

Values that override differences in a society and unify the group

What are the key components of the def of culture? What is the relationship between culture and behavior? What types of behavior are not cultural?

The Knowledge that is learned, shared, and used by people to interpret experience and generate behavior. Culture makes us the same (shared meanings, shared know how) as much as it does make us different.

Some distinctive characteristics of cultural analysis are that it is comparative and holistic: What does this mean? How does it relate to familiarization and DE familiarization? What is the relationship between culture and society?

Holistic (within cultural anthropology) – sees culture and society as systems of interrelated parts. Culture makes us the same, we have shared meanings and shared know how but culture is what also makes us different. Society is an organism (holistic view). People are the “parts” of society, and are also products of that society. Culture (knowledge) allows humans to interpret and navigate these structures. Culture is like the glue that holds society together.

Why do cultural anthropologists consider the search for human universals to be limited?

How do anthropological views of culture differ from Enlightenment ideas of human nature?

Human reason, described previous people and anthropologist collected artifacts. Anthropologist focused on evolution of man. Enlightenment ideas were that human nature is same for everyone, everywhere, every time, and is unchanging and organized; anthropological view is that human nature isn’t universal, its different based on the culture of the person.

How have the objects of anthropological analysis changed since 1945?

Pre 1945 – study of isolated/primitive/ tribal groups, viewing how they differ from the west. Europeans viewed these people as unfamiliar with the world when in reality they knew more than we expected. Post 1945 all human groups are studied. Studying “up” – studying powerful institutions. Ex. Studying what’s going on in Wall Street meetings. What these people talk about or do in their free time?

How ethnography is usually conducted? Why is ethnography a useful research method? Why is dialogue an important part of ethnography? (Read Dispute in the Donggo and Tricking and Tripping)

What are the limitations and contradictions of Participant-Observation?

Participant and Observation are opposites. Each part is partial because we cannot see everything from nowhere. Also you have not examined or observed their entire lives, and one can’t fully participate.

Why are ethnocentrism and naïve realism obstacles to ethnography?

Ethnocentrism is the idea that our beliefs and behaviors are right and true, and other peoples’ behaviors are false. Naïve realism thinking your perspective on life is the only one that exists. If someone is set on one of these two views then they cannot discover and properly observe a completely different culture and truly except their beliefs and function as they do.

What are some potential problems with cultural relativism?

The ability for one to suspend their own definition of right or wrong due to accept the beliefs and practices of another culture. This leaves us with without any basis for morality and judgment

How does “positioning” affect ethnography? How does it compare to “objectivity”?

Accounts to the positions from which one observes. Objectivity is a goal that we can never completely reach. Positioning: accounting for the positions from which one observes…sex, age, gender, background history. Objectivity: goal we can never completely reach.

How does the metaphor “illegal” shape our understanding of immigrants?

Reduces a person to one action; paints immigrants as criminal threats; ignores structural causes of immigration, us trade policies, us businesses; ignores the humanity of immigrants; and legitimates harsh immigration policies.

What are counter-rituals and how do they function?

May challenge cultural meanings and identities as well as create new ones. Disfiguration or defacement, transgression, and can evoke strong emotions to alter the usual.

How does religious belief relate to the ultimate problems of human existence?

The ultimate problems of human existence such as death, the explanation of evil, the meaning of life, and transcendent values that can be answered with religion. Why are we here, why do people suffer, why must we die, bafflement; to cope with things we don’t understand.

How do cultural anthropologists analyze religion and other forms of belief?

They do not treat religion as false or true. Religion is culturally shaped, Pastoralism – Christ Is our Shepherd, Feudalism: Christ is our Lord, Capitalism: Christ is an accountant

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